The Companion Eris
Honestly, I couldn't care less whether Olympus turned upside down or tore itself apart. After all, they were all gods guaranteed perfect immortality by the power of their constellations, and even Zeus didn't seem like the kind of monster who would truly kill his own siblings and wife or toss them into Tartarus. And if Zeus were to fall in defeat? That would be the best possible scenario for me.
So, before setting out from Arcadia again, I considered calling the others to explain the situation and devise a countermeasure.
"Why not?"
I had asked the servants to pack my bags and was checking on my prized steed, Baekpa, when a servant watching me shook her head firmly. Dressed in a simple traveling Doric chiton that fell to her ankles, she seemed to glow in the moonlight, her mysterious aura only adding to the effect. Most striking were her lustrous, deep pink locks shining softly beneath her veil and the red eyes that gleamed wickedly from the shadows.
It was Eris. I had tried everything—coaxing, threatening—to get rid of her, but she had refused to leave my side. My destination was Lerna in Argos, at the southern tip of the Aegean Sea. To get there from Arcadia, I had to take the opposite route from my last journey, meaning I had to cross the Aegean, the inner sea of Greece, by boat.
"Ugh... this is a bit uncomfortable. Do we really have to do this?"
"I told you to go to Olympus and play with fire to your heart's content. You're the one who insisted on clinging to me."
Eris might act like a ditsy little sister to me, but her divinity was formidable—a Goddess of Discord feared by humans, demigods, and even monsters. Furthermore, the divine power she exuded, intensified by the global cold war, was enough to sweep even me up in it. If she were to unleash her full potential while we crossed half of Greece?
"I'd rather hike up a mountain carrying oil-soaked brushwood."
Not just Olympus, but all of Greece would be engulfed in the flames of war. That was why I had made a condition for her to join me: she had to transform perfectly into a human. At the very least, she had to suppress her divine power to the level of a demigod.
"Grrr... Fine! I get it, I get it!"
Honestly, I was just poking at her, hoping she'd get annoyed and leave, but perhaps it only fueled her temper. She sucked back the ominous aura that had been leaking out.
"Anyway, back to the point—why are you against telling the others about the situation?"
"You're not seriously asking that because you don't know, are you?"
"Just tell me. If you're going to act like a big sister, then act like one."
"Tsk... isn't it obvious?"
I looked back at her with a subtle smile, and Eris pouted before answering my question.
"To you or me, Olympus is just a bunch of idiots having a fun family squabble. But to them? Those are the gods they've admired and feared their entire lives—their fathers, cousins, and elders. If they heard those beings were fighting over their heads, do you think they could calmly keep swinging their swords around here? Especially guys like Heracles or Antaios, who hold their fathers in such high regard—do you want to see a civil war break out right here, right now?"
"Ho-ho."
As expected, Eris was sharp. Despite her appearance, she was a goddess who had lived in Greece for thousands of years, and her eye for the flow of the times was incredibly keen. Especially with her divinity of discord, her insight into war and conflict surpassed even my own. Why hide it? It was Eris's advice that had helped me map out the situation during the war with Thespiae.
To be fair, it wasn't so much "advice" as it was her excitedly rambling about various things while I carried her from Acrocorinth, but there were surprisingly valuable gems hidden in her chatter.
And now that I was stepping into the heart of Greece, which was currently a witch's cauldron, having a goddess who had no equal when it came to conflict and discord as a companion was a godsend.
"As you say... *hup*. There's no benefit in telling the others about the situation in Olympus. They're all in the middle of a growth spurt, making great progress. Hearing about a war they can't intervene in would only deepen their inner demons."
So, while Eris was off changing into her human form, I quietly sought out Atalanta to briefly explain the situation and hint at my plans. Atalanta, who had been in the middle of her dawn training, looked sad that I was leaving so soon after returning, so I made sure to "comfort" her in the training hall. In the end, she smiled and sent me off willingly.
I had also slipped her some knowledge about the Bangjung-sul and its power, which had shocked her into immediately focusing on her cultivation. Perhaps because she was focusing on building her heart and body before her Qi, she had been engrossed in training, not leaving the grounds unless it concerned me or official business, ever since I taught her the Pacheon-Tumashimgong, just like Antaios.
"...You lecher."
"Still, this is a lecher with a sense of romance."
Eris shot me a glare, as if my vibrant nightlife was disrespectful to a thousand-year-old elder. But I already had two women who had secured the position of primary wife, and even a slave I was currently "training." Being embarrassed about it now would be pointless.
"Besides, I'm not like some people who force themselves on women who don't want them, right?"
"Ha, really? Can you look me in the eye and say that?"
"....Of course."
I, the former Heavenly Demon, the Grandmaster of the Demonic Cult. I don't turn away a woman who comes to me, but I don't take a woman who refuses me by force. ...Unless the situation calls for it, of course.
"Hmph! You're sleeping with every goddess and woman you see, so where do you get off acting like a sage?"
"You're the one talking nonsense."
I frowned at Eris's unusually venomous attitude as she settled in front of my saddle. I had heard she was happy to finally be rid of the "youngest" status with my arrival, so I understood why she would rush to take care of me when I was in trouble, all while teasing and provoking me. I remembered how happy I was when a junior finally joined my squad in the military after being pushed around for so long. But Eris's interference and blatant irritation were starting to bleed into her divine power, stimulating me.
"You..."
"W-what?! Why!"
"....."
A question that had risen to my throat almost slipped out, but I swallowed it and gave a bitter smile. For a moment, I had wondered if this Goddess of Discord had developed feelings for me.
'I'm not that narcissistic.'
My romantic flags had flown in from the most unexpected directions, but even so, was it plausible that Eris, of all people, had feelings for me? This was Eris. There were countless songs by bards claiming that the discord surrounding Zeus was because she had slept with him, or that she had shared love with Ares in a pit of corpses on the battlefield. Yet, according to Nemesis, even Zeus and Ares were terrified of her divinity, treating her as a colleague or business partner rather than someone they dared to touch.
In reality, she only acted like a ditsy girl in front of me, but the madness and divine power she displayed while cheering on the battle of Thespiae had turned the battlefield upside down. The particularly cruel executions of Thespios and the treatment of the defeated soldiers were likely her doing. Hadn't I been terrified by the blood-red aura of discord that permeated the area while I rode Baekpa from a distance?
'The problem is that it's not unnatural, like a hypnosis app or soul-stealing technique.'
Everyone is just stimulated by their own inner demons and anxieties because of her. The root lies in their own hearts, not in her. Yet, the fact that she could intervene in the "heart"—the most difficult of the three aspects of cultivation—without any restriction made me realize that she truly was of the bloodline of Nyx.
And yet, she had feelings for me?
'Ha!'
Every woman I met these days showed interest in me, and the Goddess of Beauty herself was openly seducing me, so I must have become a bit arrogant.
"...Let's get going. Before the others wake up and chase after us!"
"W-wait!? What were you about to say..."
"Quiet, and put this on!"
"Ugh! My hair is getting messed up! Don't!"
"A cloak is essential when traveling!"
"I! Said! I! Don't! Want! To! It's a rare outing, don't ruin my look!"
When I forcibly threw the cloak over Eris's head, she struggled like a child, screaming that she didn't want to. As expected of the Goddess of Discord!
"Are you a child!? Ugh, you're so annoying! Take that!"
"Huh? H-hey?!"
I didn't know what would happen if Heracles or Iason heard us and came running, so I forcibly scooped her up.
"Heeeeee?!"
"....What's wrong?"
I was a bit puzzled that Eris had gone quiet like a cat being held by the scruff of its neck, but not knowing when she might flip out again, I quickly sat her on Baekpa and mounted the horse myself, snapping the reins.
Given the situation, I felt a pang of regret at having to leave the land I had cultivated so busily once again. But with a heart full of anticipation for what events awaited me, I rode out through the gates of Tegea.
"...Confirmed."
"They'll probably head to Corinth, right?"
"Hmm, if they leave now, we can get ahead and arrive first. But who is the companion?"
"Who knows... we can just ask when we get there."
High above the palace of Tegea, two figures kicked off the roof in a single leap, crossing the sky.